Here is the review of the bonus material that was added to the Turbo 30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition.
I have said before and I’ll say it again. Priest knows how to reissue their albums as for myself this is the fourth Deluxe Reissue following British Steel/Screaming For Vengeance/Defenders Of The Faith.
This is the full show from the 1986’s Fuel For Life Tour and all I gotta say is Holy Shit is this ever good! It’s amazing how guitarists KK Downing and Glenn Tipton broke out some new sonic’s on the Turbo album and dived headfirst into some metal like synth blasts that come alive so much more on the Kansas City show than the studio versions of Turbo. Case in point the track posted above is Locked In and when the song at the 2 minute 10 second mark mashes up the Guitar Synths with singer Rob Halford’s vocals along with a tempo change this is complete Brilliance at taking a song in one straight ahead motion and shifting gears mid-flight! At the time when Turbo was released I was 18 and a total Noob in ignoring such genius Axe Craftsmanship put forward by the Tipton/Downing Duo!
It only took me 30 years to realize the errors in my thinking! Haha! Better late than never I suppose. This night in K.C Priest is on fire and I love the crunch of the Guitars live. Actually all the songs sound huge with even Heading Out To The Highway aided with the Priest Synth to thicken up the sound not to subtract from it. The whole band rocks and this is another great throwback Live Album from Judas!
If you recall when I reviewed the Defenders Bonus live album which was recorded on the 1984 Tour I mentioned that Priest basically played all of Defenders live which was a ballsy move to say the least and because of that I won’t ever have to review the studio album as it’s all live!
(Live at the Kemper Arena, Kansas City)
“Out in the Cold”
“Locked In”
“Heading Out to the Highway”
“Metal Gods”
“Breaking the Law”
“Love Bites”
“Some Heads Are Gonna Roll”
“The Sentinel”
“Private Property”
“Desert Plains”
“Rock You All Around the World”
“The Hellion”
“Electric Eye”
“Turbo Lover”
“Freewheel Burning”
“Victim of Changes”
“The Green Manalishi (With the Two-Pronged Crown)”
“Living After Midnight”
“You’ve Got Another Thing Coming”
“Hell Bent for Leather”
Wowzer’s! Hows that for a set list! Pretty A-OK by my standards. The thing that stands out as well is that the Turbo tunes when played come across with a lot more ooooomph live especially Rock You All Around The World. This track has a lot more bite in its attack live than on the studio. Private Property is another with the guitars having an extra snap to em and even the backing vocals are rough sounding which add to the coolness of this show. Kudos to Priest leaving off Parental Guidance here!
Priest did release a live album from this tour back in June of 1987 titled Priest Live. Course at the time I bought it but It never really caught on with me. The packaging was beyond lame with that sappy cover and the songs to me sounded like they were doctored up in the studio big time especially the audience participation levels… It didn’t help that as far a live albums go I would compare everything to Iron Maiden’s Live After Death in regards to packaging/album sonic’s/performances. Priest man, didn’t have a chance back than!
Speaking of Performance’s!……
So ummm I stumbled across this chaps site who goes by the name of Jonathon Valen, Who is Jonathon Valen you ask. Well he was hired by Priest as a second drummer to augment everyday Priest drummer Dave Holland to supplement drums offstage(behind a curtain). Kinda of an interesting twist to things round these parts but man oh man what a great read at Valens site. The dude has proof as guys like Jeff Pilson(Dokken) have posted this..
Whut??
C’mon Rob and Crew. Give credit where credit is due!
Downing and Tipton should be commended for breaking new ground here back in 86 with the playing that came from the Turbo album. Still remember at the time of Turbo’s release reading in Sports Illustrated Magazine an article on KK and Glenn taking up Golfing while on the road between tour dates! I thought that was kinda cool as back than no artist would talk about that kind of stuff so not only were Priest forging new tones on Turbo but the two lead guitarists were trading in their Metal Spandex for Golf Slacks on days off.
You can click the link below to read the original article from Sports Illustrated! It’s quite a cool read especially the comment of “Just Worship The Devil At Night”….haha….Silly Metal Brit’s!
Now! How’s this once again for timing! Today(Feb 3 2017) Priest releases the deluxe edition of Turbo included is a live show recorded in Kansas City. I will say it again as Priest knows how to do the reissue format properly!
You know Turbo at the time of its release back in good ol 1986 I think got somehow buried since from a Hard Rock standpoint the Van Halen VS David Lee Roth drama took in a ton of press that year and it was like “Oh here’s a new Priest album!” and that was it.
From a build up standpoint there was no hype for Turbo which was kinda bizarre as the previous couple of Priest album’s 1982’s Screaming For Vengeance and 1984’s Defenders Of The Faith delivered in full Metal fashion.
I still recall watching MuchMusic when the first video single was dropped from Turbo and that being Locked In which I thought was a good track but Wowzer’s Priest went and borrowed the ZZ Top Synth and slammed out a bunch of tracks and talk about a direction change in everything including the packaging/the song’s and even Priest themselves were all sporting a new swag like look! Think the KISS Lick It Up look mashed up with a Mad Max/Road Warrior look! See video posted below….
Haha….gotta love this video…man the 80’s Ruled!
Um…The Turbo Lovers….
Rob Halford – vocals
K. K. Downing – guitar
Glenn Tipton – guitar
Ian Hill – bass guitar
Dave Holland – drums
Turbo Tracks…
1. “Turbo Lover” 5:33
2. “Locked In” 4:19
3. “Private Property” 4:29
4. “Parental Guidance” 3:25
5. “Rock You All Around the World” 3:37
6. “Out in the Cold” 6:27
7. “Wild Nights, Hot & Crazy Days” 4:39
8. “Hot for Love” 4:12
9. “Reckless”
Priest open the album with an all time great which is Turbo Lover which features KK and Glenn playing all kinds of metal like synth shots emulating from there guitars going straight into the synth and it is quite genius. Though at the time I was like “Whoah a real shift in direction” as if you recall Defenders opening track was the ballistic FreeWheel Burning which is Metal through and through…
Locked In ..well watch the video again if you must! The song is pretty decent and really grabs my attention when it breaks down and shifts gears in the middle point of the track.
Private Property is a great track. Swirling Metal Synth propels this song forward with Hollands drums pushing the beat forward! The pre chorus part of the track is simply brilliant! “Keep Your Hands Off Private Property” sings Robbo and in a perfect Metal World setlist Priest should have done a Eat Me Alive/Private Property/Ram It Down trilogy…haha. Seriously though this song oozes cool even 30 years later!
Priest here is Itchin! Itchin for a Hit with Parental Guidance which was the rally cry of the wacka doodle censorship that was going on in the record industry circa the mid 80’s! There’s Robbo singing ” We don’t need no,no.no.no Parental Guidance here!” This song was silly to me back than and it still is today. Like why guy’s? Really?! I mean just two years before your writing tunes like The Sentinal which is just a sick mad beast of tune from Defenders. I will give Priest there due though as they are trying to move forward, maybe a little too much to my liking….
Rock You All Around The World picks up a lot more steam and KK and Glenn take off and Dave Holland or is it a drum machine keeps the tune rocking. Kinda of a cool catchy chorus. Kinda like a metal bubblegum like vibe that will stick in the inside of your noggin for minutes/hours after….anything with the title Rock in it will. Like for instance…Rock You/Rock You Like A Hurricane/Rocks Off/Rock Rock Til You Drop/I Wanna Rock/Rock Hard Ride Free/Rock Bottom and my personal fav Big Bottom! ummm sorry that last one doesn’t belong here….
Side 2 begins with the 6 minute plus Priest mid tempo Out In The Cold which is a great track and what totally blows my mind is that this was used as the tour opener on Priests Turbo Tour. Ballsy move instead of coming out and punishing the crowd Priest shifts gears and fools everyone. Out In The Cold confused back in 86 but now in 2017 I understand what these sneaky Brits were doing…Chill the crowd out and wallop them with your second song of the night….
Wild Nights,Hot And Crazy Days has Rob and Crew getting on down with the after concert party crowd and hey look over there at the catering table are Simmons and Stanley looking at that nights buffet! Kinda reminds of that a Goofy Dumbo Like KISS mid 80s track that could have slid perfectly in right before Uh All Night. This track sounds like a toss in…..
Hot For Love….mmmmm no thanks….next,
Reckless. Now we are talking after two dud’s Priest storm back with a fire cracker of a track that ends Turbo with a bang and not a whimper! Cool pace and the chorus is oh so good. So good that the video is below….
Priest in 2017 are smart as they are like I said earlier are bringing Turbo back to life with the Deluxe Edition and by all accounts from the two live tracks that were made available already (Turbo Lover and Out In The Cold) this is going to be a great live addition as the mixes are so good on the guitars especially on Turbo Lover.
Have to hand it to them as they tried to keep pushing forward but some songs fell by the wayside though Turbo is still a decent effort.
With the sonics and production of this album it’s there ZZ Priest album!
Just watch the clip posted below and you will catch my drift…
So this is from the video release Live Vengeance which was released back in 1983 but then went out of print and was reissued with Priests Metalogy(2006) box set at which time the audio portion of this show ended up on iTunes (which I snapped up) but is now gone?
Folk’s the video posted above is how you start a Metal Show back in 1982/1983…
Cue intro song the musical Hellion as the stage fills of smoke and Lights are flashing at a rapid pace to give a seizure like vibe that reveals Metallic looking stage complete with a wall of Marshall Stacks and Ramps Galore!
Before too long theres Priest ripping into Electric Eye complete with lasers added as a bonus. Whoah Nelly this is just the first 4 minutes of the show! Cue Total Metal Rock Sync Moves by Tipton and Downing at the end of Electric Eye!
Judas Priest if you don’t know by consists of…
Rob Halford – vocals
K. K. Downing – guitar
Glenn Tipton – guitar
Ian Hill – bass guitar
Dave Holland – drums
Below is the track list for Live Vengeance! This is METAL!
“The Hellion/Electric Eye”
“Riding on the Wind”
“Heading Out to the Highway”
“Metal Gods”
“Bloodstone”
“Breaking the Law”
“Sinner”
“Desert Plains”
“The Ripper”
“Diamonds & Rust”
“Devil’s Child”
“Screaming for Vengeance”
“You’ve Got Another Thing Comin'”
“Victim of Changes”
Encore:
“Living After Midnight”
“The Green Manalishi (With the Two Pronged Crown)”
Encore 2:
“Hell Bent for Leather”
I was glad to score this off of iTunes as I think it’s the best Live Priest album out there. Sure 1979s Unleashed In The East is a bonafide classic but with Live Vengeance it’s a smidge ahead in the fav department as the album Priest was plugging on this tour Screaming For Vengeance is easily one of my all time great’s so this Live Meal Deal just resonate’s with me a bit more!
Halford and Company are on fire here! Priest lay down the Gauntlet and Shove it down our ear lobes! Halford nails the vocals on all the tracks and since this tour was Priests break through in North America Halford ever being the salesman tells the Memphis crowd( where this was recorded) that “The Next Track Comes Via Unleashed In The East The Way Of Sin After Sin..It’s The Sinner”
Way to push product Robert! Ha! KK and Glenn man are at the top of their game here as they just toss huge bombastic Riff After Riff our way. Even cemented in one spot on the stage Ian Hill just slams the 4 String bass into submission while trouble maker drummer Dave Holland is pretty solid!
Case in point watch Screaming For Vengeance Below…CRANK IT!
The title track just flat-out rocks! Sooooo Good! I recall watching this ways back around the mid 80s or so and KK’s guitar was mixed so low you could barely hear his solos whereas Tiptons guitar was cranked beyond relief. Fortunately with this updated version that’s not the case at all. You hear KK and his Flying V’s just fine!
I would have to say this is my all time Priest era it does not get better than this show/set list. A good few years before Priest found the Turbo synthesizer and starting writing some debatable material.
Is Defenders by Judas Priest already 30 years old? Holy crap Tbone your ancient ! Hahahaha. Seriously though I’m not going to review the studio portion here I’m just going to hammer down on print the live portion of the Defenders reissue! If you want to read the Defenders Of The Faith studio review head over to mikeladano.com he’s got it all there for Ya!
I gotta hand it to Priest they know how to reissue there back catalogue. British Steel came with the full album/Leftover studio tracks and a full live show from 2010 of Priest playing the full British Steel album front to back with classics thrown in for good measure. Screaming For Vengenace as well included the full album and some live tracks from the Live Vengenace tour and a full live DVD from the U.S. Festival (1983) of Priest playing to the masses that day! Defenders is the same full studio album and a full live show from 1984 as a included live bonus!
Friends of Arena Rock this how reissues should be done! Make it interesting for me the fanboy from yesteryear that will rebuy it. Give me something, toss me a musical bone so to speak to spend my $ and make it my worthwhile! Everyone and there dog knows I’m a Van Halen Fanboy so when I bought the reissues of the 6 David Lee Roth era albums back in 2000.no extras,nada,nuthin,zippo just some original packaging yada yada. Of course VH is once again reissuing the same albums (2015)and once again no extras,nada,nuthin,zippo…I will pass!
So for this reissue of Defenders you get 3 CDs with the reissue(myself as usual i bought it on iTunes $19.99 for 31 tracks) The first cd is the actual studio album remastered and it features everyone’s favourite singalong Eat Me Alive! Ha. This is great to have it as the last copy I owned was on vinyl back upon its release in early 1984!
Discs 2&3 are the selling point and Priest delivers it here as its a full live show recorded on May 5 1984 in good ol Long Beach California! Home of also where Iron Maiden recorded a year later in 1985!
Since there are a shitload of songs on the live portion I will try and keep it simple…..
Hell Bent For Halford!
LOVE BITES- the tour opener and you know listening to this track all these years later I can see how they are headed towards Turbo County 2 years later(1986). The beat is ZZ Toppey sounding and Ian Hill on Bass and Dave Holland on drums drive it Texas style but of course you got KK Downing and Glenn Tipton playing super duper cool catchy metal riffs and Rob Halford soars vocally……did I not say I was keeping this short and simple!
JAWBREAKER- well so much for that ZZ Top comparison! Priest goes back to regular business and this is a great song and it’s good to hear it again. Cool verses,prechorus catchy Metal hooks!
GRINDER- back to 1980s British Steel with Grinder! How can you not dig this tune especially the middle part how the song break downs and shifts gears you know the part about Grinder not needing a license! Ha..great song man….
METAL GODS- Halford tells the crowd that there’s 13,000 Heavy Metal Maniacs in Long Beach at the show and bam were into Metal Gods! I mean this song is metal not in speed but in pace it’s a slower kind of metal riffage! Tipton and Downing are on fire on this live recording!
BREAKING THE LAW- well now the British Steel Triology early in the show is concluded with “Breaking the what?” Asks Halford and Priest ramp it back up and and set the pace quickly and into…
SINNER-duelling guitars set the tone and Halford takes over and man Sinner is Awesome i still remember hearing it for the first time on Unleashed In The East and Halford almost destroyed my Sears stereo speakers with his Sinner bombastic shrieking! A tour de force of vocal supremacy here at Arena Rock! Boom! Done!
DESERT PLAINS- one of my favourite Priest tunes ever! Of course it’s from one of my fav albums (Point Of Entry) of the mighty Judas! ‘Full moon is rising the sky is Black!” Sings Robbo. Love the verses,chorus,solos,vocals it’s all hear! That opening riff at the start of the song is the fuckin deal!
SOME HEADS ARE GONNA ROLL- another newbie track from Defenders and it’s a great song! Priest is telling us all if people are bugging Ya don’t let them bug Ya! Cool tempo this is Priest slowing things down a bit but still keeping it heavy devy Metal! Umm no sap here whatsoever!
THE SENTINEL-holy and I mean holy shit it’s so good to revisit this song! Tipton and Downing lay down a slow heavy duelling guitar riff deluxe combo and Kaboom the rest of the band drives this song and what a great track! Epic building of a tune and I love how after the ripping of the solos Priest chill out and Halford does his deepy voice thing and than The Sentinel ramps back up towards the finish line! This is Judas Priest right here,right now!! Well 1984 that is!
ROCK HARD RIDE FREE- what a great track from Defenders! Super cool catchey everything! Love these chill power chords on this tune and the tempo starts the song one way and by th first verse a tempo change than into the pre chorus yet another tempo change and after all that Halford laying down the “Rock Hard Ride Free,all day all night” Yep that says it all! The solos are dope sick good especially when they shift into the breakdown at the end of the Tipton/Downing guitarama! Another one of my Favs and next to the Sentinel my fav off of Defenders!
NIGHT COMES DOWN- Wowzers Priest shifts gears and slows the bus down and plays a tune that is slower but it’s a good track! I’m surprised back in the day Priest didn’t release this as a single. Perhaps they didn’t want to follow trends since other bands of the time were doing it. I could be wrong or maybe Priest forgot to do it! Haha
THE HELLION/ELECTRIC EYE- ahh yes now the Screaming For Vengenace album is represented and it’s amazing that Screaming was Priests biggest seller up til that point and it’s finally track number 12 of the show and after the taped Hellion intro and viola Tipton/Downing lay down the law with the axes and this is another excellent track! Love it …crank it and buy yourself a copy if you don’t have it!
HEAVY DUTY-Robbo and the Priest tells us that Metal is Heavy Duty so get ready as we’re all…..
DEFENDERS OF THE FAITH-Reverend Halford takes his metal pulpit and tells us all that we are all Defenders Of The Faith and the Faith is indeed Metal! Tons of crowd participation! Man up til this past week it must be 30yrs or close to it that I heard this tune! Metal indeed!
FREEWHEEL BURNING-the studio album opener and all bets are off! Priest hits the highway hard pedal to the floor and this is classic Priest smoldering engine pushed to the max and how about the chorus Freeeeeeeewheeeeel Burnnnnning! Of course Halford goes crazy with the vocal “Look before you leap has never been the way we keep” man Halford throws it down at 110 mph vocally!
VICTIM OF CHANGES- back to late 70s Priest Metal with heavy guitars and this is a track also I heard for the first time on the Unleashed live album! Thrown in for good measure is a live guitar solo and this has all the Metal trimmings….9 minutes long! Halford changing tempos with his voice!Hill and Holland laying down the bottom end! Guitar Hero solo 101 tossed in for good measure! Shit man what a Extravaganza!
GREEN MANALISHI- oh yeah Fleetwood Mac originally wrote this probably before Stevie Nicks and her Rumours vibe joined Fleetwood but regardless Priest make it there own! This is a great song very catchy! Cool guitar solo and once again Halford soars sonically at the end of the song!
LIVING AFTER MIDNIGHT-Priest says just cause the shows ending doesn’t mean the party’s ending! Simple metal but it’s friggin good! When I think of this track ummmmm…LOADED! Great song written by Downing/Tipton/Halford..what else Ya want?
HELL BENT FOR LEATHER- cue Rob entering arena on his Harley! Cue tons of feedback from the amps of Downing/Tipton! Cue quick riffing! Cue double bass drumming! Cue Ian Hill slammimg straight ahead bass licks! Cue leather/Smoke/Metal! This has to be the trademark Priest send off ! Boom …..
YOU GOT ANOTHER THING COMIN-the big hit from Screaming including crowd singalong and Priest send the 13,00o home from Long Beach Arena happy and according to Halford at one point in this show another 5 million radio listeners at home(this show was broadcast on radio) Thats a good nights work !
IN CONCLUSION-It was great to revisit Defenders after so many years! For myself personally it was Priest from Unleashed In The East thru to Screaming that I like best! Well now I gotta give it up for Defenders Of The Faith!
The live show like I mentioned is the Deal! I mean how crazy is it that Priest plays 9 out of the 10 tracks from Defenders(Eat Me Alive is the lone holdout) and play just two from Screaming For Vengenace there mega seller from 2 years earlier! Give Them credit man ….plus there live chops are awesome! The mix and production from the live show is real good considering it’s been laying around in a vault somewhere for 30 years!
The booklet included is pretty neat and shows the pics of Priest when they played MSG in NYC in 1984 and fans ripped out seats and chucked them at the stage. The result was $250,000 in damage and landed Priest a lifetime band from playing MSG!
The Love Bites video is a bootleg from Montreal! It’s pretty good footage considering the dude probabley filmed it on a camcorder the size of a mini bar fridge back in 1984! Check it out and see how Priest kicked off there show in 80s style!
You kids want metal! Well look no further than this classic slab of a Vinyl from Halford and company themselves! 1982 and Priest unleash this masterpiece which next to Point Of Entry(easy people)is my favourite Priest studio album!
The cover is a slick affair. Love the colours on it especially the use of yellow and the slick Metallion looking eagle slammimg down on its prey! Inside is what matters and all these years later this album Cooks!
Rob Halford/KK Downing/Glenn Tipton/Ian Hill and Dave Holland recorded Screaming in Spain and man the way this album sounds was that studio still standing when these guys left? Props must be given to Tom Allom on the production end of things! He makes Priest sound heavy and to this day this album does not sound 33 years old! How about 33 years young!
Screaming Indeed!
THE HELLION- the quick little ditty of a intro that you can hear yourself in the video posted and man Priest set the Table as in ‘can you pass the potatoes and after that pass THE METAL” The Hellion sounds heavy as the guitars are crashing with the drums and than…
ELECTRIC EYE- smash a gong and whoosh and heres KK and Glenn ripping out metal riffs 101 and I still love this song to this day! Halford rocks the tune vocally with his voice and man the cat can sing and this is Metal but catchy I mean does it getter better than this? Hard to say as Priest put the gauntlet down and Glenn just rips out crazy fast solos and holy shit my sonic senses are crushed! Also what must be noted is when you watch the video above. This is how kids a metal show from 1982 starts! These are the Kings of it…Cue Hellion intro! Cue Marshall Stacks! Cue huge lighting rig! Cue double bass drums! Cue huge ass Chrome Metal looking stage with all inclusive ramps added as well! Cue metal dudes blasting out and rocking and Cue the leather!
RIDING ON THE WIND- Holland rolls the drums out of the gates quick and here’s the guitars and boom Rob laying waste once again. Priest goes for the throat here the song is a hard heavy rocker the solos are gold and the chorus is catchy Priest! Is there such a thing as catchy Priest? Who cares …..blast it……
BLOODSTONE- love this song! Period! Bloodstone starts with KK and Glenn cranking the amps to 10 and doing some twirl loud swirls of riffs and than bam into a classic power chord or 3 and here comes Hollands drums and Ian Hill just delivering solid straightahead Simple Simon bass lines and from there Robbo takes over on vocals….”Blooooooodstone” says Rob again….”Bloooooooodstone” this is Metal down right! It doesn’t have to go at speeds of Slayer all the time …..this shit is the deal! You don’t believe me ask RockStar Supa Paulie down in London Ontario about Screaming For Vengeance!
TAKE THESE CHAINS – of there was a track that would fit more on Point Of Entry than Screaming this one would be it! Still even though Priest did not write this track (Bob Halligan Jr. did. Who’s he you ask? Well he wrote Rock You by Helix,Ya don’t say!) they make there own and its a great song! Super cool chorus and the second verse is Metal Ear Candy! It’s all good no make that excellent!
PAIN AND PLEASURE-kinda of Sludgey Priest here! No high speed Priest kinda slow brooding like type power riffs. The drums kinda slosh around like Holland is have a coronary. The chorus though is right on the money!
SCREAMING FOR VENGEANCE- ok the first time I heard this song I picked up the needle and replayed the track! The opening to this song is soooooooo Fucking good. The song changes gears the guitars are cranked Halford is screaming. Holland is gassed out trying to keep up on the drums while Hill nails down the simple bass line! This is Metal 101! One of the all time greats and I mean what came you say about the chorus and Halfords no pun Screaming! The guitars sheeeeeit! Shaddup Deke and hey kids watch the video posted would Ya!
YOU GOT ANOTHER THING COMING- this song broke Priest wide open in North America! Loved the fact that it was a 5 minute single! “One Life…I’m gonna live it uuuup” you betcha Rob I’m 15 and I’m living it up with my vinyl,rock mags and Pepsi ! Ha….I’m sure he met sex drugs rock n roll! Who cares though love the middle breakdown before the solo and remember the original video when the dudes head blows up? 1982 censors went crazy which probably resulted in another million records sold!
FEVER- great song and it’s another track that could have been on Point Of Entry. That’s the great thing about this album Rob and the boys throw in the mix those tracks that you have no idea if there hyper speed metal or chillax metal! Well done on mixing it up! Shaken Not Stirred!
DEVILS CHILD- end of the album GEM! One of my favs on here! Love the opening riff of this tune! All of Priest join in and rock this mother to the bone! Love the solo man Downing does the honours of laying down waste on the solo I mean KK shows how it’s done! One of my fav solos of Downings ever! Halford/Downing/Tipton the writers of this song raise the bar! I love end of the album GEMS so much that I’m throwing down a third video for this song so you all think im not talking out of my arse!
IN CONCLUSION- Priest step and deliver! This is easily one of my favourite all time Hard Rock albums! No duds just classics all brought to you by the letter M(etal). Whatever device your using crank up and sit back and watch a band show you how it’s all done 1982 style! (Screaming For Vengeance is from 1983 US Festival)
Umm,this is a bonus review as i was setting the date instead of setting it for Dec 26th I accidentially set it for today! So the Priest review drops in the middle of Whitesnake Week! Hahahaha ….enjoy it anyways ..
Well,well ,well, well and more well! Time to play what’s your favorite Priest album!
For me it’s a toss up between Screaming For Vengeance and Point Of Entry and I’m gonna talk about why I consider Point Of Entry one of there best! Right here,Right now and let’s get some debate going cuz I know Ladoanos itchin!! Hahaha….
1981 Priest releases Point Of Entry and its up to that point the 3rd Priest I own(other two being Unleashed In The East & British Steel) so my first time spinning it I was hooked this was a different Priest no more singing about Genocide, no more Green Manaleshi and well I guess the Ripper went on vacation,because this is commercial Priest and yep I loved and still do this version of Priest!
So Rob,KK,Glenn,Ian And Dave have a few beers and decide its time for Hot Rockin!
HEADING OUT TO THE HIGHWAY- KK and Glenn start of the action of this Priest tune that if your a fan or a part time fan you know this song! Robbo comes down from his metal castle and lays down the law with the vocals and Ian And Dave just keep the drums/ bass pumping! Cool solos and still in 81 I thought KK/Glenn were the best guitar duo I ever heard until a couple of fellows named Dave Murray/Adrian Smith showed up on the doorstop! Nevertheless this is classic Judas!
DON’T GO-second song in and Priest is aiming for radio play! This is a great song super catchy chrous and I guess since Priest grabbed a foothold in the North American market with British Steel it was time to keep it going with a similar sound albeit this is a tamer sound! That’s ok I need to be tamed every so often musically that is!
HOT ROCKIN- awesome Rob tells us that he’s done his share of working out. So by track 3 it’s clear where this album is headed and that’s straight into oncoming commercialism traffic. KK / Glenn rip out some great guitar action and even though there’s a different sound a brewing I’m diggin this sound ..seriously I am!
TURNING CIRCLES- some cool guitar action at the beginning and this song is one of those as I call em …Gems! Super cool punchy Priest tune and Rob throws down some “ah ah…ah ah….I’m Turning Circles” cool song…
DESERT PLAINS- ummm if your a fan …you know the deal with this tune as I consider it one of there best ever!..it’s like you can see Halford circa 1981 cruising on his Harley Motorcycle down some deserted dirt road and the lyrics man some of his best….’Full Moon is Rising ,the sky is black, I hear you call I’m coming back!’ And of course KK / Glenn/Dave/ Ian all chip in and make Priest soar sonically on this track! The solos man there wickedly good and the time change after the solo,chorus everything ….this one is a hit out of the park!
SOLAR ANGELS- I think they opened there tour with this tune as well. It’s a slow builder and as usual KK / Glenn kick off the party and this is got the tempo of like say Metal Gods (to my ears anyways) …good song though but it’s kinda hard to follow a song like Desert Plains but Solar Angels tries…..
YOU SAY YES- I say No! Jingle Jangle Priest is at it again and it’s a good catchy song. I mean Rob gives er with You Say Yes…I say No,No,No….you know by writing this and I kind of knew it as well this album is loaded with singles but none of them ever caught on. It’s too bad cuz there is more to Point Of Entry than Desert Plains and Heading Out To The Highway. I’m sure there are people out there that would disagree with me on that point though! That’s ok I’ll Take On The World Like A Battering Ram!
ALL THE WAY- Jingle Jangle Priest Part Deux. Rob does some cool chirping at the beginning of the song and this one is a little firecracker of a gem! Priest here folks are experimenting here where as back in 1981 my experimenting was trying to figure out how to pass Chemistry class! This has a super cool chorus.
TROUBLESHOOTER- drums kick off this track and before you know it the whole bands a Rockin and Rollin with a eye on that American market. The verses in this song are well done. The song itself is very good!
ON THE RUN- Priest says hey were pushing 40 minutes on these vinyl grooves. Time to call it a night and shut it down! Priest goes out with a bang on this and not a whimper ! On The Run is a little heavier and perhaps the heaviest song out of the last 4 songs (Solar Angels on). So in a way I guess Priest was laying down the groundwork for Screaming For Vengeance!
IN CONCLUSION -Priest 1981 is a different sound I guess at the time you could say Brtish Steel lite! For me though at the time this album(Summer of 1981) I played it constantly and still do for that matter. Who knows if this album would have broken big would we have not got a heavy Screaming For Vengeance record? Who knows and Im sure for many they’re relieved that Point Of Entry did not become huge and I’m ok with that cuz when everyone else was drooling over Painkiller I was naaaa….Point Of Entry! Ha. Seriously though things happen for a reason and I guess some would also say that Point Of Entry was Judas Priests The Elder(KISS) which in some ways is true as they both kinda flopped but what some consider flops you might just find its a Gem!
Well I came oh so close to seeing Priest open for Kiss back in 1979 but it was not meant to be(Priest cancelled) but right after I saw Kiss and seen Priests Unleashed In The East in the record store. I was hooked!
The cover is badass. Think about it I’m a young fella easily swayed at the time and here is this cool looking bands cover with a live shot. Mmmm looking back at it today I think this was done in the studio. The leather,smoke,dudes with long hairs playing guitars,Flying V !,double bass drums=heavy! man this is what I’m looking for. It’s like Kiss with the Alive 2 picture in the middle sleeve of the album with the full pyro going off . Now flip over the cover of Unleashed and there’s Rob Halford sitting still on the stage on a Harley Davidson no less. Plus the band is doing the selling point of it all,the POSE!! I’m converted….
Banzai Judas Priest…..
EXCITER- Priest kicks the doors off and just slam into heavy metal 101. Priest is on fire. They are taking no prisoners. This was the first song I ever heard with Tipton and Downing trying to riff out each other. No band I was listening to at the time(Cheap Trick,Kiss,ACDC) did that! Holy crap these guys are excellent and thanks Priest( enter sarcasm mode for a sec here ) for letting me sit as 12 yr old through John Cougar opening for Kiss!!
RUNNING WILD-just keeps the adrenaline going that’s left from Exciter. Halford says he demands respect in this song ! Yes sir Mr Halford I will shoe shine your metal boots for you! This is a little 3 minute rocker that well,reeks of cool!
THE SINNER- Tipton and Downing by now are warmed up and they let the fretboards do the talking on Sinner and of course Halford goes off on his operatic howl with Sinner and not only is my head blown but so are my Sears stereo speakers!
THE RIPPER- is the dark tune. Were now four songs in and ol Robbo and the boys are telling us about some crazed dude stalking around the streets. In other words don’t turn your back to anyone. It’s about YOU going into a dark alley and not coming back out! Got it?
GREEN MANALISHI(WITH THE TWO PRONGED CROWN)- Priest lays us out on the floor with this cover of a Fleetwood Mac song and basically Priestize it to there own! The guitars,drums and bass move the pace along and I still remember my mom asking me way back in time as she heard Halford with his operatic wailing and asked if he was a opera singer! My mom never ever said anything about my music but she must have been impressed by Halfords style to say the least !
DIAMONDS AND RUST- this is another cover song but Priest make it there own. Snappy Chrous that just grips you and doesn’t let go. Great Song and the musicianship is excellent!
VICTIM OF CHANGES- holy crap were getting heavy as were headed towards the end here. This is Priest when someone says give me one Priest song to define them. This is it ! Just all out heavy metal! The guitars are wickedly good and man for a while I would say Tipton/Downing were the best in the business until a couple of other fellows came along knocking on there throne !(Wanna guess who it was? Check back here this Wednesday !)
GENOCIDE- holy crap Rob and the boys are gonna gas me out! Seriously though I come from the land of Love Gun and Dr Love! And now I’m into Priest warfare with em!Geez even the titles are heavy! Cool tune wonder if they have ever played this track since?!
TYRANT-ends this album with basically Priest destroying everything in there wake! You want metal..we got metal…cool everything basically it’s Priest pillaging about! Great ending to a great album!
IN CONCLUSION- Next to the Kiss Alive albums and Cheap Tricks Budokan I had this was probably the fourth live album(some called it Unleashed in the studio) I ever owned and after listening to it it has owned me ever since! For further listening check out Memphis Live Vengeance 1982. That one as well is very good. Priest shifted my direction from some of the lighter sonics of the time (Kiss/ Cheap Trick) and took me into a heavier realm of listening!
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deKe's Vinyl Reviews & More... 